In a few short years Volvos-the fancy ones, anyway-will include a cruise-control system that lets your car drive and steer itself through crawling traffic. So if your daily commute involves a long stretch sitting in a jam, you'll be able to sit back and read a book, get caught up on work, or just keep your hands free for communicating with fellow motorists.

Volvo's Adaptive Cruise Control system uses various cameras and sensors on the vehicle to track and follow the car in front of you at a safe distance—as long as the traffic is moving slower than 31 mph. It's an extension of Volvo's Lane Keeping Aid technology which helps a vehicle stay between the yellow lines, but goes one step further by controlling the acceleration and braking too. It can easily handle both straight and curved stretches of road, is smart enough to steer around unexpected obstacles, and can be cancelled or over-ridden by the driver at any time. Now if maybe Volvo's engineers could solve the bigger problem facing drivers—finding something good to listen to on the radio.